VENTRICULAR GRADIENT VARIABILITY - NEW ECG METHOD FOR DETECTION OF ISCHEMIC-HEART-DISEASE

The usefulness of ventricular gradient variability for detecting the p resence of ischemic heart disease was evaluated in 38 patients with co ronary artery disease (group 1), 21 patients with chest pain and no co ronary artery disease (group 2), and 33 healthy control subjects. The ventricular gradient of each consecutive heartbeat at rest over a 22-s econd interval was calculated using a microcomputer. The SD and coeffi cient of variation for azimuth, elevation, and magnitude were used as indices of ventricular gradient variability. The SD and coefficient of variation of both the magnitude and elevation of ventricular gradient in group 1 were significantly greater than those of the other two gro ups (P < .01, respectively). When the normal upper limit was defined a s 2SD above the mean value in the control group, a comparison between the findings for group 1 and group 2 revealed that the coefficient of variation of magnitude of the ventricular gradient was the most sensit ive (82%) and specific (91%) index for coronary artery disease (chi-sq uare test, P < .001). This study suggests that the variability in the magnitude of the ventricular gradient is a reliable index of ischemic heart disease.